Raf
Raf in concert in 2006
Raf in concert in 2006
Background information
Birth nameRaffaele Riefoli
Also known asRaf
Raff
Born (1959-09-29) 29 September 1959
OriginMargherita di Savoia, Italy
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1983–present
Labels
Websitewww.raf.it

Raffaele Riefoli (born 29 September 1959) is an Italian singer-songwriter who is better known as simply Raf.

Biography

Riefoli lived the few first years of the 1980s in London, before starting out his musical career in 1984, landing mostly in the new wave scene with his English language debut album, Raf. His first single, "Self Control", which he co-wrote with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo, was a huge hit not only in his native Italy but also in Austria (No. 7), Switzerland (No. 1)[1] and Germany, where the single climbed as high as No. 2 in the Media Control single chart and spent a total of seven weeks within the Top 10.[2] Raf's version of the song also managed to enter the Top-40 in France.[1]

"Self Control" was recorded and released contemporaneously by American pop star Laura Branigan, previously best known for the hit singles "Gloria" (another cover version originally released by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi) and "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You". Branigan's version was released as the first single off her 1984 album, also titled Self Control, and became a worldwide dance and pop success, hitting No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. Branigan's version hit the No. 1 spot in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa and Canada, and was a major hit in Ireland, Australia, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Raf's version, which was charting high in numerous markets in 1984/85, was highly expected to become the most popular song in the history of the Italian music industry.[3]

Other English-language singles from Raf, "Change Your Mind", "London Town" and "Hard", were not as successful, and after an unsuccessful 1987 re-release of his first album with two of these songs as bonus tracks, Riefoli began to transition from the new wave/dance-pop genre into a softer pop style featuring vocals in his native language. Raf has released 11 studio albums throughout the years, including the 1993 Cannibali, which has been certified six times platinum in Italy. That album contains many successful tracks including "Il battito animale", "Due" and "Stai con me".

Riefoli has also written songs for other Italian artists; the track "Si può dare di più", written for the trio Morandi-Ruggeri-Tozzi, won the first prize at the Sanremo Music Festival. Riefoli co-wrote the song "Gente di mare" with Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, and his duet with Tozzi became Italy's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, placing third. The recording was a top ten hit in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden.

In the German-speaking territories, where the German Red Army Faction, a terrorist cell, was popularly known by the acronym RAF, Riefoli was marketed as Raff, with a second "f".[4] In the intervening years, a number of other artists including German and Italian artists unaffiliated with Riefoli have made recordings under the names Raf, RAF or R.A.F.

Raf continues to have a successful recording career in Italy with his latest studio albums, Metamorfosi (2008), Numeri (2011) and Le ragioni del cuore (2012), reaching No. 4, No. 6 and No. 13 respectively in the Italian album charts.[5]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
ITA
[6]
SWI
[7]
Raf
  • Released: 1984
  • Label: Carrere
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
Self Control
  • Released: 1987
  • Label: Carrere
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
Svegliarsi un anno fa
  • Released: 16 May 1988
  • Label: Warner
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
Cosa resterà...
  • Released: 7 February 1989
  • Label: Warner
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
7
Sogni ...è tutto quello che c'è
  • Released: 1 March 1991
  • Label: Warner
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
6
Cannibali
  • Released: May 1993
  • Label: East West (Warner)
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
5
Manifesto
  • Released: 8 June 1995
  • Label: East West (Warner)
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
5
La prova
  • Released: 19 November 1998
  • Label: East West (Warner)
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
17
Iperbole
  • Released: 1 June 2001
  • Label: East West (Warner)
  • Formats: Cassette, CD
375
Ouch 790
Passeggeri distratti
  • Released: 26 May 2006
  • Label: Columbia (Sony BMG)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
3
Metamorfosi
  • Released: 20 September 2008
  • Label: Columbia (Sony BMG)
  • Formats: CD, digital download
4
Numeri
  • Released: 10 May 2011
  • Label: Columbia (Sony Music)
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
6
Sono io 7
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Compilation albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
ITA
[8]
Collezione temporanea
  • Released: 3 October 1996
  • Label: Warner
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, LP
5
Le ragioni del cuore
  • Released: 9 October 2012
  • Label: Columbia (Sony Music)
  • Formats: CD, Digital download
7
Raf Tozzi
  • Released: 30 November 2018
  • Label: Sugar
  • Formats: CD, Digital download
24

Live albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
ITA
[9]
Soundview
  • Released: 30 October 2009
  • Label: Colombia (Sony BMG)
  • Formats: CD, Digital Download
29
Due, la nostra storia
  • Released: 29 November 2019
  • Label: Friends & Partners
  • Formats: CD, Digital Download
47

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
ITA
[10]
AUT
[11]
FRA
[12]
GER
[13]
SWI
[7]
"Self Control" 1984 174021 Raf
"I Don't Want to Lose You" 1985 36
"Change Your Mind" 1819
"Hard"
"London Town" 1987 32
"Inevitabile follia" 1988 10 Svegliarsi un anno fa
"Svegliarsi un anno fa" 39
"La Battaglia del sesso" 1989 Cosa resterà...
"Cosa resterà degli anni '80" 6
"Ti pretendo" 2
"E' meglio così " 1991 Sogni ...è tutto quello che c'è
"Interminatamente" 3
"Oggi un dio non-ho" 3
"Senza respiro" 22
"Siamo soli nell'immenso vuoto che c'è" 3
"Anche tu"(Raf featuring Eros Ramazzotti)
"Il Battito animale" 1993 4 Cannibali
"Cannibali"
"Il Canto"
"Due" 5
"Stai con me" 1994 20
"Dentro ai tuoi occhi" 1995 Manifesto
"Il Suono c'è"
"Un Grande salto" 1996 Collezione temporanea
"Lava" 1998 La prova
"La Danza della pioggia" 1999
"Infinito" 2001 189 Iperbole
"Via" 19
"In tutti i miei giorni" 2004 7 Ouch
"Superstiti"
"Dimentica" 2006 4 Passeggeri distratti
"Passeggeri distratti" 23
"Ossigeno" 2008 12 Metamorfosi
"Non è mai un errore" 12
"Ballo" 2009
"Per tutto il tempo" 47 Soundview
"Un'emozione inaspettata" 2011 28 Numeri
"Le ragioni del cuore" 2012 49 Le ragioni del cuore
"Show Me the Way to Heaven"
(Raf vs. F-Clef)
2014 35 Non-album single
"Come una favola" 2015 42 Sono io
"Rimani tu"
"Eclissi totale"
"Arcobaleni"
"Come una danza" feat Umberto Tozzi 2018 - -
"Samurai" con D'art 2019 - -
"Liberi" con Danti e Fabio Rovazzi 2020 - -
"Cherie" 2022 - -
"80 voglia di te" 2023 - -
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
ITA
[14]
GER
[13]
SWI
[7]
"Gente di mare"
(Umberto Tozzi e Raf)
1987 Non-album track
"Tu vivrai"
(Pooh, Eros Ramazzotti, Enrico Ruggeri, Raf, Umberto Tozzi)
1990 Non-album track
"Per la gloria"
(Mario Lavezzi, Gianni Bella, Riccardo Cocciante, G. Combo, Mango, Raf)
1991 Non-album track
"Mi rubi l'anima"
(Laura Pausini featuring Raf)
1993 Laura Pausini
"Come una danza"
(Raf featuring Umberto Tozzi)
2018

References

  1. 1 2 "Raf: Self Control". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  2. "CHARTSDEUTSCHLAND: Single Top 100 (25 June 1984)". charts.de. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  3. Italy's Self Control in Worldwide Charts Assault. Billboard Magazine. 24 June 1984. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  4. "One Hit Wonder: Raff -Self Control". Bayerischer Rundfunk Online. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  5. "Raf: Album positions on Italiancharts.com". Hung Meiden. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  6. Peak positions for Italy's studio albums:
  7. 1 2 3 "Schweizer Hitparade: Raf". Schwiezer Hitparade Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. Peak positions for Italy's compilation albums:
  9. "FIMI: Classifica settimanale WK 45 (dal 2 November 2009 al 2009-11-08)". FIMI. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  10. For peaks positions in Italy:
  11. "Austriancharts.at: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  12. "Lescharts.com: Raf (Singes)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  13. 1 2 "Charts: Raf (Singes)". Charts.de. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  14. "Indice per Interprete R: Raf (Singes)". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 14 July 2011.

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